Jackson Neal, a fifth-grader at Piper East Elementary School, has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2013 Kansas National Geographic Bee.
The bee is sponsored by Google and Plum Creek. This is the 25th anniversary of the Bee. Bees were held in schools with fourth through eighth grade students throughout the state to determine each school’s Bee winner. School level winners then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. In each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, and the U.S. territories, the National Geographic Society invited the students with the top 100 scores to compete at the state level. Jackson was in the top 100 in Kansas.
The 2013 Kansas National Geographic Bee will select the state winner on Friday, April 5, at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kan.
The state winner will receive $100, the “Complete National Geographic on DVD,” and a trip to Washington, D.C. where he will represent Kansas in the national finals at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 20-22.
The first place national winner of the national competition will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the Society. The national winner will also travel (along with one parent or guardian), all expenses paid, to the Galapagos Islands. The winner will experience geography firsthand through up close encounters with the wildlife and landscape of Galapagos. Travel for the trip is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. For additional information on the National Geographic Bee please visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee.
National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild will air the final round of the 2013 National Geographic Bee, moderated by Alex Trebek, on Thursday, May 23 (to be followed on public television stations). Local television listings will have the date and time for this area.
- Story from Kelly Kultala, Piper Schools